Portable power channel-flap layer.



PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

W. H. HOOPER.

PORTABLE POWER CHANNEL FLAP LAYER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12.1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

witnesses MQW THE NORRIS PETERS 1:0,, WASHINGTON, C4

PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

w. H. .HOOPER. PORTABLE POWER CHANNEL FLAP LAYER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12.1906.

4 SHEETSSHBET 2.

' Inventor:

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rm: "cums PETERS ca., wasinntrmu uv No. 865,898, v PATENTED SEPT. 10,1907. l

' w. H. HOOPBR.

PORTABLE POWER CHANNEL FLAP LAYER.

' APPLICATION rum) snmn. 190a;

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a? ttyfs THE mum's PETERS ca, WASHINGTON, nc,

uofssma. v PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907. "W. H. HOOPER.

PORTABLE POWER CHANNEL FLAP LAYER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12.1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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Witnesses Invenfior:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

WILLIAM H. HOOPER, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO MANUFACTURERSMACHINE COMPANY, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PORTABLE POWER CHANNEL-FLAP LAYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1907.

Application filed September 12, 1906. Serial No. 534,247.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. Hoornn, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Lynn, in the I county of Essex and State. ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Portable Power Channel-Flap Layers. of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

My invention relates to machines known in the art as channel flaplayers, adapted to pressinto place and smooth out the channel flap ofboot and shoe soles after the attachment of the sole to the upper bystitches or other fastenings applied in the channel of the sole has beencompleted. In the manufacture of boots and shoes after said stitches orother fastenings have been inserted in thechannel formed in the outsole, the channel flap or lip is cemented and then relaid or turned downinto its original position to cover and protect said fastenings. In theoperation of nearly all channeling machines, however, as at presentconstructed, the channeling tool usually commences its channel cuttingor forming movement on and at the right side of the shank portion of thesole or at the loft viewing the tread face thereof and works forward,following the edge of the sole to and around the toe, and back to acorresponding point on the opposite side of the shank, the flap thusbeing turned up and always laid 'back in one direction.

The operation of the channeling tool, however, also causes the flap tobe moved slightly longitudinally of the 5.110, pushing its outer edgeslightly forward or in rear of the position normally occupied in thechannel, or, to express it differently, the flap is turned up not onlytransversely or at right angles to the face of the sole, but somewhatobliquely thereto and in the direction in which the channel tooloperates, or in cases where the latter is fixed and the shoe moved,opposite to the direction of such movement. The same results are alsoproduced where a flap or lip turning device is used for opening thechannel, either in conjunction with the channeling tool or independentlyand furthermore the flap thus cut or turned is more or less wrinkled orpuckered, and, as the sole is set or tempered preparatory to cutting thewrinkles thus formed in the flap are set by the drying of the sole andare difficult to remove. When the flap is relaid, after the fasteningshave been placed in the channel, if the work is done by a machine thesole is presented to the action of a grooved roller or other tool, theribs or working faces of which act to turn down the cemented channelflap into the channel on one side of the shoe in the opposite directionto that in which it was turned up in the action of the channel cuttingor flap turning tool, thereby smoothing out the wrinkles therein. On theother side of the sole, however, the flaplaying tools while turning downthe flap into the channel either do not relay it into its originalposition, or turn it down oppositely to the direction in which it isturned up, that is to say, oppositely to the oblique direction referredto. On this side of the sole therefore the flap is relaid with more orless wrinkling or puckering, and particularly also about the toe of thesole, and increasing or intensifying the wrinkles on said side oralready in the flap. In order to efficiently relay this flap it shouldbe turned down not only upon one side but all around the sole uniformlyand oppositely to the oblique direction in which it was turned up, sothat each and every part of theflap will be returned to its normal placeor position in the sole, and the wrinkles put into it in channeling orturning the flap up smoothed out or removed during the flap layingprocess.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a flap l laying devicewhich, commencing its operations at a point where the channel toolceases to act or where the channel ends at the left side of the shank orheel portion of the sole, viewing the bottom thereof, will turn down thechannel flap all the way around to the beginning of the channel at theopposite side of the shank in the reverse direction to that in which itwas turned up. Furthermore, machines previously constructed have beenprovided with flap laying or turning devices mounted to rotate about afixed support, and the shoe has usually been presented by hand to bringit in flap laying relation to said flap turning device. I havediscovered, however, that the channel flap is more ad vantageously andefficiently turned down in the oblique directions referred to and relaidinto its normal sole position by mounting the shoe upon a fixed supportwhile the flap laying devices are brought into any desired operativerelation with the sole of said shoe and moved progressively thereover.

Another feature of my invention therefore relates to a portable powermeans for supporting and operating the channel flap layers whilepermitting them to be moved freely over the sole and at any desiredangle relative thereto.

All of the above, however, with other objects and features of myinvention will be best understood and appreciated from the followingdescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of apreferred embodiment of my invention, selected for the purposes ofillustration, the scope of said invention being more particularlypointed out in the appended claims. V

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of the right side ofan organized machine embodying one form of my invention and selected forpurposes of illustration only; Fig. 2 is a detail in front elevation ofthe portable power channel flap layer used in connection therewith; Fig.3, a plan view thereof; Fig. 4, a horizontal section on the line 4-4,Fig. 2; and Fig. 5, an enlarged detail thereof to show the constructionand arrangement of the rollers.

Referring now to Fig. 1, A represents a sole pressing machine which maybe of any desired shape or c'on struction but in the particularembodiment of my invention hertin selected for illustration ispreferably substantially the same as shown in Letters Patent to me No.684,239, dated October 8, .1901, to which reference may be made ifdesired. This machine is of the sole beating out type, having a jack, J,on which the shoe is supported and which carries it into operativerelation with the molds by which the shoe sole is laid or leveled. Abovethis machine (see Fig. 1) is the portable power channel flap layer Bwhich, in the present embodiment of my invention, comprises a suitablemovable carrier suspended by hangers 1 from an overhead support,provided with channel flap rollers 2 and 3 supported thereby inconvenient operative relation to the normally stationary jack of thebeating out machine.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that with channel flaplaying machines as at present constructed the shoe is presented by handto whatever type of flap laying devices are employed, the latter usuallybeing mounted upon a rotary shaft journaled in a fixed support. If,however, the shoe is mounted on a fixed support and the flap layers mademovable relatively thereto, each shoe must be mounted upon the jack tobe operated upon and removed at the conclusion of the flap layingoperation, so that more or less time would be lost in what is termedjacking and un- 'ackin the shoes. To prevent such a loss of time andalso that required to move shoes from the usual flap laying machines toa sole laying or leveling machine, and therefore to economize the timespent in the operations of flap and sole laying and leveling, with aconsequent reduction in the cost of manufacture, I have in the presentinstance utilized the jack of the beating out machine as a support forthe shoe, upon which it is mounted prior to the beating out action ofthe machine. By this arrangement the operative after once jacking theshoe can immediately use the portable power channel flap layer to relaythe channel flap of the sole and then operate the beating out machine tolevel the same without any loss of time. Referring now particularly toFigs. 2 and 3, said hangers 1 are formed as a yoke. the arms 4 ofwhichpivotally support horizontal boxes or bearings 5 in which a driveshaft 6 is journaled, said shaft having at its right end the usual fastand loose pulleys 7 and 8 respectively, adapted to be connected with aconvenient power shaft (not shown). This shaft also forms the pivotalsupport for a counterbalance lever 9 from the front end of which theroller carrier, presently to be described, is suspended. Thiscounterbalance lever, as here shown, is pivoted by its hub-like bosses10 on said drive shaft 6 and intermediate said boxes 5 so as to permitit to rock or swing freely thereon, but preventing movement laterally orlongitudinally of said shaft. This lever is also provided, as hereinshown (Fig. 3), with a longitudinal recess or slot 11 for a pulley 12fast on said drive shaft 6 and rotating therewith. At its front end saidpivoted lever 9 is provided with a forked head 9 (Fig. 3) pivotallymounted thereon by a horizontal stud or pivot pin 9 to permit said headto rock freely thereon, the forwardly extending arms 13 of said headhaving suitable bearings 14 for a countershaft 15. Between the arms 13said countershaft 15 receives a pulley 16, fast thereon and connected bya belt 17 with the driving pulley 12 on said driving shaft, the rotationof which rotates said pulley 16 and thereby the countershaft 15. Thiscountershaft extends through its bearings 13 and at its outer ends isprovided with pulleys 18, fast thereon and rotated simultaneously withsaid shaft. IIhese pulleys are connected by belts 19 (see Figs. 1 and 2)with grooved pulleys 20 at the outer ends of said channel flap rollers 2and 3, by which the latter are rotated, the left belt 19 being crossedto rotate the roller 2 in opposite direction to that produced by theright belt 19 on said roller 3. Each of these rollers is loosely mountedon a flexible and pivot shaft 21 (Figs. 4 and 5) comprising two partsabutting at their inner ends which is secured at its outer ends insockets formed at the inner ends of suitable handles 22 (Figs. 2 and 4)of convenient shape to be grasped by the hands of an operative formoving said shaft and the rollers 2 and 3 mounted thereon to a desiredoperative position, the rounded inner end of one section of said shaftfitting into a recess 22 of converse shape formed in the inner end ofthe opposite abutting section to form a flexible connection, so that theoperative face of the rollers may be adapted to fit the contour of thetread face of the different styles of shoes. For normally holding thetwo parts of said shaft 21 in alinement I have herein provided a coiledspring 25-, connecting the rods 25 of said carrier. That this handledshaft and its flap laying rollers may be moved back and forth over thesole of a shoe mounted on said jack and simultaneously tilted verticallyand swung laterally, I have, in the present instance, provided suitableoscillatory or suspension means herein shown as a horizontally swingingvertical carrier, which as has been stated is suspended from the frontend of the counterbalance lever 9. This carrier comprises a pair of armsof links 23 (Fig. 2) provided respectively at their upper and lower endswith telescoping rods 24, 25, adjustabl'y secured therein. The lowerends of the rods 25 are provided with eyes 26 through which theends ofsaid shaft 21 extend and are supported. In the present instance each ofthese eyes is larger in interior diameter than the shaft which itsupports, each of said eyes moreover being placed between the inner endof the adjacent handle 22 and the hub of the adjacent roller pulley,such construction permitting of slight longitudinal movement of therollers 2 and 3, loosely mounted on said shaft, but preventing more thana limited longitudinal displacement of said shaft relative to itscarrier. By this arrangement of a loose connection between the shaft andits carrier, said shaft and its rollers have sufficient movementrelative to the carrier to permit either or both ends of said shaft tobe elevated or moved laterally or obliquely to bring the rollers intooperative position relative to the shoe sole or work to be operatedupon.

To similarly connect the upper end of the carrier with thecounterbalance lever 9, referred to, the upper ends of the rods 24 areprovided with similar eyes 27 which, in the present instance, aresupported upon headed horizontal pivot pins or studs 28, carried at theouter front ends of horizontal arms 29 removably secured to said forkedhead 9. The interior diameters of these eyes are also larger than thehorizontal pins 28 on which they are supported, so that the carrier maynot only be swung back and forth to progressively move the flap layingrollers over the shoe sole, but simultaneously to permit oscillating orrocking and swinging the carrier laterally, both vertically andhorizontally, by simultaneously or separately moving said handles 22 inopposite directions, thereby providing for additional movement of saidshaft and its rollers to bring one of said rollers into any desiredoperative position relative to the shoe sole and flap to be operatedupon. For adjustably securing the rods 24 and 25 in said links 23, theends of the latter are provided exteriorly with screw threads and alsosplit longitudinally,

the split ends receiving between them the ends of said rods which areslid vertically therein to the desired position, the threaded portion ofsaid links 23 being provided with clamping nuts 30 which may be turnedto clamp the split ends against said rods to hold them in desiredposition, or to express it differently, for varying the effectivelengths of the carrier arms 23, which may be adjusted at will and asdesired to normally maintain the axis of the rolls in a desiredhorizontal or oblique position. As said supporting arms are suspendedfrom the front end of the lever 9 (Fig. 1) means are also provided forcounterbalancing said lever and the weight supported thereby; said meanscomprising, in the present instance, a counterbalance weight 31 slidablymounted on the rearwardly projecting arm 32 of said lever and secured inany desired position'by set screws 33. By moving this counterweight backand forth on its supporting arm, the center of gravity of the system maybe correspondingly moved forward or in the rear of its fulcrum to changethe effective lengths of the lever arms, so-that the weight of theroller supporting arm of the lever will normally overcome that of itsopposite end, depressing said rollers, or, with the rearward movement ofthe said counterweight, elevate the same. By adjustment of said weight31., the lever may be norm ally maintained in horizontal position oreither end may be maintained in a depressed position but in practicesaid weight is adjusted to a position such that the roller end isnormally depressed and to produce more or less pressure upon the rollsand the work operated upon, the amount of pressure being increased asthe weight is moved toward the fulcrum and decreased as it is moved awayfrom it. The pivotal mounting of the lever upon said driving shaft 6permits it to be elevated or depressed by hand respectively to raise itout of contact with the sole or to force or permit it to be depressedupon the sole of the shoe mounted on the jack beneath it. The eyes 26and 27 being considerably greater in internal diameter than the saidshaft 21 or the studs 28, permit of considerable lost motion at bothends of the carrier which with the pivotal otherwise, relative to anydesired portion of the sole and tilted and moved at will during theoperation thereof.

When not in use, or during the subsequent leveling operation of thebeating out machine, the roller shaft 21 is supported adjacent its endsin forwardly extending bracket arms 38, secured to a stationary part ofsaid beating out machine A.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the rollers 2 and 3 are sepa rated sufiicientlyto permit of rotation thereof without interference, a loose idler orring 34 having a slightly convexed edge being interposed on said shaft21 between and to separate the opposed ends-of the rollers andconstituting not only a rest for the sole but a pro-, tector or coveringfor the adjacent edges of the rollers, thereby preventing injuriousaction thereof upon the sole during the flap laying operation. Each ofthese rollers, as herein shown; is of general frusto-conical form havinga slightly curvilinear periphery tapering towards one end, saidperiphery in the present instance being formed with continuous spiralgrooves 35 (see Fig. 5) and intervening continuous spiral ribs 36,though obviously my invention is not limited to any particular number ofribs or grooves. As herein shown (see Fig. 5) the tapered ends of saidrollers abut the idler 34 but as the rollers are loosely mounted on thepivot shaft 21 their positions may be reversed to bring the tapered endsoutwardly with the portions of greater diameter in the center, thepulleys 20 being adapted to be removably secured to either end of saidrollers. The edges of the ribs are herein shown as slightly rounded, toprevent any tendency to cut the flap or bottom of the shoe sole uponwhich they operate and to make the rollers lighter, the groove 35 ineach roller is provided with a series of holes 37 (Fig. 5). Whenrotated, these rollers cause their ribs to act upon a channel flap andmove the same longitudinally of the rollers and transversely to thedirection of rotation, i. e., in a direction to lay the said flap uponor flush with the sole' from which it was cut and turned up, and alsodirectly opposite to the oblique position in which it was turned up bythe channeling tool or the usual flap turning device. This operationwill be best understood by referring to Fig. 4, where S represents thesole of the shoe, supported upon the jack J, having the channel flapturned up and the rollers 2 and 3 rotating in the directions indicatedby the arrows in said figure. As the right roller 2 (Fig. 4) is broughtto bear upon the flap at the end of the channel on the left side of theshank of said sole S, the action of its rib on said flap will cause saidflap to be turned down in a direction opposite to that indicated by thesmall arrow on said flap in which it was turned up. By swinging thecarrier forward the roller 2 lays down the flap continuously in themanner just described to the toe end of the sole. When this point isreached the carrier is swung laterally with a twisting motion about thetoe end of the sole and then the roller shaft is rocked longitudinallyand vertically by elevating its left end and depressing the right (Fig.4) to remove the roller 2 from and to bring the roller 3 into operativerelation with the flap at the right side of said toe. The rib of saidroller 3 being rotated in a reverse manner or oppositely to that of theroller 2 then engages the flap on this side of the sole to press it toplace, the combined rotary and longitudinal effect of the beginning ofthe channel is reached at the right side i of the shank portion of thesole, at which point the channeling commenced. As will be apparent froman inspection of Fig. 4, the progressive movements of the rollers overthe sole, that is, toward the toe on the left side and oppositely on theright side, are also opposite to the direction in which the flap wasbent forward or back of its normal position when cut or turned up fromthe channel, so that this movement of the carrier and its rollersgreatly assists in laying the flap down in the right direction.

In operating with my machine, a shoe is first mounted upon the jack J ofthe leveling machine, in the position indicated at J in Fig. 1, that is,with the jack in its outer horizontal position, in which it is normallycarried and in which a shoe is conveniently applied to or removedtherefrom.

Assuming the shoe to be suitably jacked or secured to the jack toprevent movement thereon, the operative next grasps the handles 22carrying the channel flap roller shaft and rollers and moves the same toa position indicated in Fig. A, in which the ribs of the roller 2 arebrought to bear upon the channel flap at the end of the channel. Therotation of this roller 2 causes its ribs to engage the flap at the leftside of the sole, viewing the tread face (Fig. 4), and turn or lay itdown in the manner described. In performing this operation, theoperative depresses the left handle 22 while elevating the other, notonly to bring the roller 2 into operative contact with the desiredportion of the shank of the sole but to prevent the roller 3 fromengaging the opposite side of the shoe. The rollers are next swungforward toward the operative, or toe of the shoe by hand, tilting thesame as desired to cause the ribs of said roller 2 to lay the flapcontinuously down to the toe end of the sole. At this point theoperative gradually swings the roller shaft and said rollers laterallyto bring the ribs of the other roller 3 into engagement with the flap atthe right side of the sole (referring to Fig. 4) and by a continuousmove ment of the roller carrying shaft causing the oppositely rotatingroller 3 continuously to lay the flap into its original position in thesole until the commencement of the sole channel is reached. Thisoperation will ordinarily be sufficient, the channel flap being laidcontinuously from the end to the commencement of the channel andrestored to its original position in the sole by a single oscillation ofthe carrier and removing the puckering or wrinkling resulting from thechanneling or flap turning operation. Obviously, however, the rollersmay be moved over the sole any desired number of times, or caused todwell at any portion thereof until the flap is thoroughly smoothed outand efiiciently laid.

By'varying the position of the counterbalance weight 31 the rollers maybe caused to bear with more or less weight on the sole shoe in additionto that produced by the pressure of the hands of the operative, whichmay be desired in working upon certain types of soles.

The carrier, with its rollers, may also be advantageously movedhorizontally over the sole from the rear of the shank towards the toeend thereof, the curvilinear taper of the rollers inwardly and theirrotationin opposite directions permitting the flap on each side of thesole to be laid simultaneously with but a single forward movement of therollers, which however, may be repeated as often as desired. Whenoperating in this manner to lay the flap simultaneously upon both sidesof the sole, the flexibility of the shaft 21 permits varying the concaveperiphery presented by the two rollers so that different types of solesmay be operated upon, the coiled spring 25 connecting the rods 25 at thelower end of the carrier normally maintaining the two sections or partsof the shaft in alinement but yielding to permit flexing it in anydirection, usually vertically.

It should be understood, furthermore, that while I have described thechannel flap layer as operating upon the fiap of a shoe channelcontinuously from the end to the beginning of the channel, thecommencement of which was at the right side of the shank, obviously themachine is equally adaptable in operating upon soles in which thechannel is cut in a reverse direction. In the latter case the rollersare rotated in the opposite direction to that described herein and theroller 3 is first brought in operative relation to and upon the shoesole while the carrier is swung forward toward the toe, the roller 2then being brought into flap laying position as described and thecarrier swung rearward to its initial position, thus laying the flapcontinuously from the beginning to the end of the channel and in theopposite direction to that in which it was cut or turned so that it isrestored to its normal position in the shoe sole.

By supporting the rotary rollers horizontally in a carrier which can atonce be swung longitudinally, vertically, laterally and obliquely, thecombined movements permitting the rib of either roll to be brought intoany desired position relative to the shoe sole and the flap it is tolay, and caused to dwell thereon or to move progressively and under any,desired pressure to produce the efficient results desired. By employinga counterbalance, moreover, the expenditure of. energy required of anoperative in manipulating the shoe under the suitable pressure requiredto effectively lay the flap is avoided, as the sole of the supportedshoe normally sustains the weight of the rollers and their carrier.

While I have shown a jack of a beating out machine for supporting theshoe to be operated upon, obviously, any other sole pressing machineprovided with a jack maintained in substantially horizontal position, orany other type of shoe supporting means may be employed, my inventionnot being limited in this respect, the term jack as used in the claimsbeing generic in sense and including any form of shoe support, whateverbe its construction.

My invention furthermore is not limited to the particular embodimentthereof herein selected for illustration and description only, nor tothe specific constructions, details and terms used, the latter beingused in a broad or generic sense and not in their specific nature, and IWish it to be understood that minor changes may be made in theconstruction and arrangement of parts within the spirit and scope of myinvention.

Having thus described the specific embodiment of my invention, I claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In an organized machine of the type described, a horizontal pivotedlever, a vertical carrier pivotally connected therewith having ahorizontal shaft provided with handles to facilitate swinging thecarrier, flap laying members mounted on said shaft, and means forrotating said members in different directions.

2. In a machine of the type described. a support. a carrier suspendedtherefrom, a pair of rollers arranged end to end journaled at the lowerend of said carrier having ribbed peripheries together forming acontinuous spiral, and means for rotating said rollers in oppositedirections.

In a machine of the type described, a horizontal pivoted lever providedat one side of its fulcrum with a counterbalance weight and at the otherside with a vertical carrier comprising a pair of arms having eyes attheir opposite ends, means on the lever for loosely supporting the eyesat the upper ends of said arms, a shaft loosely mounted in the eyes atthe lower ends of said arms and carrying a roller provided with channelflap laying means, and means for rotating said roller, the looseconnections between said eyes and the lever supporting means at theupper ends of said arms and between the eyes at the lower ends of saidarms and said shaft providing for limited universal movement forpresenting said roller in variable angular positions relative to thesole of a shoe operated upon.

4. In a machine of the type described, a carrier provided withsupporting means constructed and arranged for horizontal and verticalmovement, a horizontal shaft mounted on said carrier having a pair ofrollers of substantially frusto-conical form and provided with ribbedperipheries together constituting a continuous spiral having theirtapered ends arranged inwardly, and means simultaneously to rotate saidrollers in opposite directions for laying the channel flap of the soleof a shoe continuously from the beginning to end of said channel or atboth sides of the shoe simultaneously, as may be desired.

5. In a machine of the type described, a movable carrier, a pair oftapered and ribbed channel flap rollers, a shaft mounted on said carriercarrying said rollers, said rollers being adapted to be turned end forend to present theirtapered ends inwardly or outwardly as may bedesired, and means for rotating said rollers in opposite directions.

6. in a machine of the type described, a movable carrier, a tw0partshaft having the inner ends of its parts flexibly united, a rollerprovided with flap laying devices mounted on each of said parts, andmeans for rotating said rollers in opposite directions.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. HOOPER.

Witnesses THOMAS A. Trmmnn, SIDNEY l SMITH.

